Gone is J.R. Blount, who carried the Ramblers past WMU last season at University Arena. Loyola hasn’t forgotten how to shoot, though, hitting 31 of 63 3-pointers during its 2-1 start. Senior Marcus Thomas is doing the most damage, coming off the bench to knock in 12 of 21 triples and average 14.3 points. The Ramblers’ second-leading scorer is also a reserve, Walt Gibler, a 6-7 forward netting 12.2 an outing. Loyola scored the final 11 points in its 76-73 win at Holy Cross Friday, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Aric Van Weelden. The Ramblers opened the season by being blown out, 92-54, at Kansas State, before bouncing back with an 89-69 home win over Canisius. Not much is expected out of this team, which was picked to finish ninth in the Horizon League.

Prediction

Loyola won’t shoot as well as it has the past two games forever, but it’s up to WMU to make sure it doesn’t continue for even one more night. For the first time this season, the Broncos won’t be facing a legitimate big man, allowing them to focus their defense on guarding the perimeter. If the Broncos can make Loyola miss from outside, it’ll mean plenty of long rebounds and chances to run, exactly what WMU wants. We’ll find out a lot about the Broncos tonight. They’ve tasted a bit of success for the first time in 20 months with Wednesday’s impressive come-from-behind win over VCU — a win that looks all the better with VCU’s rout of No. 17 Oklahoma Saturday. But the Broncos haven’t proven anything yet, except for having higher ceiling than many thought. They need to remember that. This is a game they should win, but saying a team should win a road game is somewhat foolish until it shows the maturity do it. In the less-than-intimidating atmosphere of the Gentile Center, here’s guessing WMU will.